Interview with Isaac Brock :
The reason Brock says he called Marr was because that’s who he always thought Gallucci was trying to rip off.
“When he left,” Brock says of his former bandmate, “I thought about all the different people I’d like to play with. Then I thought, ‘Well, who did all the things that Dann did? Who influenced him to be that?’
HARP: So let’s go back to when you called Johnny at his house in Manchester and asked him to join the band. Had the two of you even met before?
BROCK: No, I just called my manager and got a number and talked to Johnny about it and… he was surprisingly into it. He was also surprisingly informed about a lot of music. That’s something I really like about him. He’s really interested in music he hasn’t heard. I really didn’t think he would return my call.
HARP: Were there any other people you thought of?
No, I thought of asking a fellow from !!!, but I didn’t. To be honest, Johnny was the first person I had come to mind.
HARP: Obviously, that’s not an ideal situation to begin writing a record under. What doubts, if any, did you have about that?
Well, you don’t know what’s going to happen, you know? One of the reasons that I wanted to work with [Marr] is because he doesn’t play the same way I do. That could work out really well, which it did, or it could have gone poorly.
HARP: When did those doubts and concerns vanish for you?
My doubts for the whole thing dissipated pretty quickly. I really let him decide what levels of commitment he wanted. So it’s good. We talk and plan about the next record in an excited way. Our thoughts are all forward.
Interview with Johnny :
HARP: About a year ago you received a rather unexpected call from Isaac asking you to join this band. How aware of Modest Mouse were you at that point?
I was aware. Some of the songs that I liked I really liked —“Satin in a Coffin,” “Dramamine.” Obviously “Float On” and a couple of things off The Moon & Antarctica. So I knew what they were about. But I just didn’t think I was at a place in my life where I wanted to pack up and join a band as a guitar player.
HARP: Part of that, I imagine, had to do with leaving your family. You had to relocate to Portland for a while to do this, right?
I was in Portland for a lot of the time, yeah. But my family, luckily for me, is very excited that we have a new record in our lives. Both my son and daughter and my wife are really excited [about the new record]. You know, both my kids play?
HARP: Actually, someone told me that your son is a really big Modest Mouse fan.
Yeah, he knew the riff to “Ocean Breathes Salty” before I learned it. [laughs] So that was kind of handy! I was away for a long stretch of time when we were writing the record, but luckily they’re really big fans.
HARP: I also heard that that when you were deliberating over joining the band, your son basically pulled you aside and said, “Dad, you have to do this.”
Well, I’d kind of made up my mind [when that happened]. I was talking to them about being on tour. I was saying, “This record might keep me away next year. What do you think?” And he was like, “What are you even asking me for? It’s Modest Mouse. Go do it.” [laughs] But there was a very symbolic moment when I was driving over to the rehearsals one day. I got attached to a couple of the songs in a big way and I found myself accelerating because I was excited to go and play the song we were working on. I thought to myself, at that moment, “Shit, you’re doing it. You’re getting attached.” They didn’t even know if I was going to be able to make the entire record.
HARP: For a lot of people your membership in this band is sort of surprising. There are some fairly notable differences between the six of you. Aren’t you sort of a health nut?
Yeah, for me it’s no kind of Aerosmith deal or anything. People might think it’s in the interest of being sedate and conservative, but it’s actually the opposite. I’m really intense about it. I don’t have any truck against psychedelics, not in the slightest. I’m not into alcohol and I loathe cocaine. I think it’s really corny and anti-creative. But yeah, I’m very intense about it.